Searching for wild animals for false alarms: lion hunting in Berlin was so expensive

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Police officers, hunters, veterinarians and firefighters: they have all been looking for an alleged lioness on the outskirts of the German capital Berlin since Thursday. At times, as many as 320 police officers were present, 220 in Berlin and 100 more in Brandenburg.

But that’s not all: an armored vehicle was also used to search for the alleged big cat. In the end it turned out: there was no lioness, the predator turned out to be a wild boar that was not so dangerous.

The turning point is sour for the police union. This is reported by the “image”. The deputy chief of the German Police Union, Heiko Teggatz (50), was beside himself: “This operation is undoubtedly the most expensive safari that has ever existed in the German forests!” He is convinced: such an operation can easily cost the taxpayer several 100,000 euros. The money would possibly have snuffed out – “a scandal”.

Personnel costs of 200,000 euros per day

According to Teggatz, a mission with a large helicopter including technology, personnel and maintenance can easily cost 5,000 euros per hour. The money would have been “better invested in fighting clan crime,” he railed. The fire service vehicles may not have been cheap either. For example, the fire brigade in the city of Cologne charges 401 euros per hour for a crane truck, while a normal fire truck still costs 205 euros.

If the police come to the scene for no reason, they will charge. The fees are between 50 and 80 euros per police officer, writes the “WDR”. If you extrapolate the personnel costs for hunting predators in Berlin, you come to a minimum of 200,000 euros per day for the personnel alone.

Insurance protects against costs

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia suspected that the expensive safari could have been used to avert danger. In this case, the cost of the police operation remains with the taxpayer. Your assessment matches that of Police Unionist Teggatz. In Germany, however, owners of exotic animals can purchase insurance to protect against costs incurred when a wild cat or alligator escapes. For example, the specialist insurer Werner Hahn insures a circus.

The insurance costs 1,500 euros, a spokesperson told the ‘WDR’. “An exotic snake costs a maximum of 50 euros per year,” says the employee. This would protect the owner from any damage caused by the escaped exotic. The agency Werner Hahn also insures lions. However, the condition for this is that the owner legally keeps the animal and has registered it with the authorities.

Meanwhile, CDU politician Philipp Amthor (30) has little interest in the math games of the police union. “For the possible protection of children and adults in dangerous situations, the calculator should not be removed first,” he told “Bild”.

Source: Blick